Sponsored silence raises over £6,500 for charity despite trolling

A 23-year-old choir-master from Southampton, Jack White, was forced to cut his unique, interactive charity challenge, ‘Jack In A Box’, short over the weekend following online abuse from social media trolls. White’s brother, James, stepped in to complete the challenge.

In a collaborative effort, the brothers took part in the challenge to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

On his JustGiving page, Jack White referred to the charity as being one “very close to his heart” as his nephew was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago.

He wrote: “This charity event isn’t for me, it’s for you to get involved and be entertained. Please get involved today and pledge what you can to help us get closer to curing Type 1 Diabetes.”

The challenge – Jack In A Box

The challenge was to spend a total of 75 hours in a hotel room, without any access to entertainment; no book, no iPhone, no TV. The song Never Gonna Give You Up, by Rick Astley, would also be playing on repeat.

Next to White’s hotel room was a production room, which monitored the ‘Jack In A Box’ Facebook and Twitter pages in order to keep everyone updated on his progress over the weekend and the event was live-streamed.

He was due to finish the challenge on Monday 19th October, and estimated that he would have heard the song at least 2,500 times by the end.

Singer Astley showed his support by posting on his Facebook page: “This is the definition of crazy!! Good luck Jack, all the best”.

However, on the Friday evening, White had to stop the challenge, explaining his reasons for doing so in a Facebook video.

In the message, he said: “The comments that flooded the live stream were some of the most difficult, offensive and rude things I have ever had to read.”

Adding: “When my nephew tried to say hello to me via the stream and people started to attack him and JDRF, myself and the production team knew it was time to act.”

His brother, James White, stepped in to complete the challenge, which involved living on a diet of porridge, rice and water.

Outshining his target

Despite the set-back, through this challenge White has managed to exceed his original target and has has raised over £6,000 on his JustGiving page.